The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has put its signature on the draft environmental analysis for Sound Transit's Everett Link project, which would extend light rail 16 miles north from Lynnwood.
Board Vice Chair Ryan Mello shared the news at the Sound Transit board meeting Thursday, noting federal approval allows the project to tick off another milestone. Sound Transit is aiming to open Everett Link in two phases, with four stations up to SW Industrial Center tentatively set for 2037, and Downtown Everett tabbed for 2041.
"Last week, we received some outstanding news from our federal partners, as the Federal Transit Administration signed the Everett Link Extension Draft Environmental Impact Statement, clearing the way for a September 18th publication of that really important extension," Mello said. "This is a key milestone. It launches the public engagement period for Everett Link Extension, in which the region will be able to learn more about the current state of the project, and share their priorities for Everett Link Extension going forward."
The public engagement period on Everett Link will start on September 18 as soon as the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is released and must last at least 45 days by law.
The draft EIS will need to be finalized and converted into a final EIS, which will also require federal approval and another public comment period. With that hurdle cleared, Sound Transit could advance to final designs and break ground on the project.
Sound Transit is still waiting on FTA approval to release the DEIS for the much more complex Ballard Link Extension. Originally, that document was initially set to be released much earlier than the Everett Link counterpart. The agency blames "federal regulatory changes" since the second Trump Administration took office, with every additional month of delay on that project costing the agency tens of millions according to Sound Transit.
The release of Everett Link's DEIS suggests that not all projects are receiving the same level of scrutiny and headwinds at the FTA.
Sound Transit is hoping to wrap planning on Everett Link by the end of 2027, with construction anticipated to start in early 2031. That timeline makes the project somewhat less at the whims of the Trump Administration, which has yet to sign any transit grant agreements since taking office in 2025 – in fact it has sought to claw back several existing transit grants – even as it has been willing to eventually approve some transit planning documents. A new administration that could take over in 2029 may be friendlier.
Advancing the Everett extension has been a clear priority for the agency's 18-member board, under the banner of "completing the spine" from Tacoma Dome to Everett Station, a 62-mile corridor. This is especially true for the board's Snohomish County delegation led by Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers, who chairs the board.
Hooking over to SW Industrial Center is far from the most direct route to downtown Everett, but it does take the light rail line near Paine Field – which Snohomish County officials hope to grow into a secondary airport for the region —plus Boeing's sprawling manufacturing plant. This preference has led the board to rule out the cheaper, faster alignments along SR 99 or I-5.
Voters approved funding for Everett Link in 2016's Sound Transit 3 (ST3) ballot measure, but most projects in that package have run into significant planning hurdles. Back in 2016, Sound Transit had hoped to open Tacoma Dome Link in 2030 and Everett Link in 2036, while West Seattle Link was tabbed for 2030 and Ballard Link for 2035.
A 2021 ST3 realignment delayed timelines for most projects, with the pandemic taking a good chunk of the blame.
In May, the board overhauled ST3 delivery schedules in light of a $34.5 billion long-term budget gap. The "Affordable ST3 Plan" put forward by Chair Somers delayed several extensions, potentially scrapping some projects forever. However, Everett Link made it out relatively unscathed, with no further delays announced at the time.
The Tacoma Dome Link Extension is still officially tabbed for 2035, but with Sound Transit not anticipating breaking ground until 2030, that could be optimistic. The construction phase on Sound Transit's light rail projects have generally lasted six years or more.
In contrast, the agency revealed last month light rail to Ballard could be pushed to 2060s without further action to find major savings or secure new revenue. The agency's best-case scenario would open the entire Ballard Link project from SoDo to Ballard in 2042, if it's able to close the roughly $8 billion budget gap that pushed it to table the Ballard and Interbay stations, while advancing the downtown segment.
The Everett Link project will need to keep moving through the process for its anticipated 2037 opening for the Paine Field segment to stay in play.
Doug Trumm
